Robles writes that a tiny, barely-noticeable line on some
Chinese-made globes has created insult in Manilla where they are being sold in bookshops.
The line was first noticed by a group of Facebook users, who then emailed a number of
news organizations about the globes.

The problem is that these globes appear to use China's
"nine-dash" map of the sea, first published in 1947, which shows
Chinese territory extending hundreds of miles south from China's
Hainan Island to the equatorial waters off the coast of Borneo.

That little line indicates that the Spratly Islands are within
Chinese territory, ignoring that they are currently the subject
of overlapping territorial claims by China, Taiwan, Vietnam,
Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines. The Philippines have
announced they "strongly protest" China's decision to include the
line on the map, while Vietnam has lodged a formal complaint,
the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

As the Chinese-made globes are cheaper than American-made globes
(which do not show the line), some worry they could end up being
used in schools in Manila.
Robles writes in the SCMP that bookshops selling the globes
have agreed to withdraw them from sale.

China courted a similar controversy last year when it emerged
that the country's new passport contained a map that appeared as
if territory within the "nine-dash" line was China's. The new
passport has caused problems as some countries worried that a
visa stamp would be "endorsing" the controversial map — Vietnam
for one was reported
to be refusing to stamp the passports.